A friend is retiring after 30 yrs on the Santa Fe / BNSF and I’m looking for a photo of a Santa Fe passenger train (i.e. Super Chief, etc.) in the Chicago area. I don’t know the geography well enough to know if it was feasible to have gotten photos of trains leaving Dearborn Station or that area w/ the Chicago skyline in the background (or at least what there was of a skyline back in that era.)
Basically I want to find something that speaks to “Santa Fe” and “Chicago.”
I have another friend who is an artist and would use this as the inspiration to create a water color painting for the retiree.
If anyone has a suggestion (photo online, book, etc), I’d greatly appreciate it.
Pretty interesting photo. I don’t recognize the lead unit on that train. Looks little like a Fairbanks Morse, but yet it doesn’t seem quite right to be that brand. Thanks for finding that.
I’ve also been poking around looking for a photo of an ATSF caboose. I thought maybe a shot of the rear of a train would be a fitting commemoration for the end of a RR career. Since the person worked in intermodal, I was trying to find one of a caboose on the rear of an intermodal train. Obviously that would have to be a photo in the range of 20 yrs old or more. So far, no luck… though its amazing how many Santa Fe caboose roster shots exist.
The train in question is indeed an Amtrak run very early in the Amtrak era, note that the Sears Tower is still under construction. I’m not sure if it’s the Super Chief or Texas Chief, though. The switcher handling the equipment move is indeed an FM product, it’s one of three H12-44TS units used by ATSF to switch Dearborn Station. Since ATSF was only a tenant at Dearborn Station, C&WI did not handle the switching of ATSF passenger consists.
It may be an early Amtrak/ATSF train, most likely the Chief. The Highligner cars appear to be in the consist. The FM switcher would indeed be pulling/pushing the train to/ from the ATSF passenger yard near Archer/State. I used to go by there a lot. The yard is part of Chinatown now.
Your best bet may be to get a picture at 22nd St Crossing with the Cuneo Press building in the background. Another site is the Meadow Gold icehouse near the St Charles Air Line.
A classic view of Chicago may have been the 1950’s view of Dearborn with the huge Lee Jeans painted sign. There s/b many pictures of this.
I have heard that the old Life Magazine is now kaput, but the entire photo library may soon be available for searching. Editions from the 1930’s-1950’s to 1968 may be worth searching. I wonder if the National Geographic photo library may also contain some ATSF or other RR photos.
This would take a little work in getting, but TRP Magazine has a wonderful shot of the Texas Chief power being transferred. The shot does not include any passenger trains, but the background shouts “CHICAGO”. Included in the background are Armour and Rath reefer cars, a drawbridge and the skyline. I am guessing the shot is from around Ashland Avenue.
The shot is contained in Issue 58, Jul/Aug/Sep 2003. The issue is a special Chicago edition and is well worth the $5.95 cost. Phone 717-637-3852.
Nice shot, but what is it? 19/20 went off 5/1968, as did most other stuff except 15/16, 17/18, 23/24. Note the chair car against 2nd unit–photo doesn’t show enough to know if this is a DH car or something else. Any clues, anybody?
